South Korean FM says peninsula nuke issue to be biggest challenge for years to come

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SEOUL, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's top diplomat said Monday that the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue would be the biggest challenge to her country for years to come.

The peninsula nuclear issue "remains the biggest challenge on our foreign affairs and security front and will continue to be so for many years to come," Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha told a press conference with foreign correspondents in Seoul.

Her comments came after the the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) tested last week what it claimed was a hydrogen bomb warhead that can be loaded onto an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).

The sixth nuclear test was seen as the most powerful ever conducted by Pyongyang, which tested its first nuclear device in 2006.

Though Pyongyang continued to conduct provocations, Kang said, the South Korean government will continue to work toward a peaceful achievement of the denuclearized Korean Peninsula.